Jay Shah reveals when final decision on Asia Cup venue will be made

On Thursday, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced that the final call on the host nation or nations for the Asia Cup will be made on the sidelines of IPL final,  May 28, where numerous esteemed representatives from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will be present.

"As of now, the decision with regards to hosting of Asia Cup hasn't yet been finalised. We are busy with IPL but the top dignitaries of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Bangladesh and Afghanistan Cricket Board are coming to watch the IPL final. We will have a discussion and take a final decision in due course," Jay Shah told Press Trust of India (PTI).

Pakistan are the designated host for the Asia Cup this year. However, BCCI has refused to send its team to Pakistan, after which PCB chairman, Najam Sethi, suggested a "Hybrid Model."

Under this model, four matches would be played in Pakistan, while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Afghanistan would compete in those matches. It appears that this proposed solution by Sethi, which involves India playing all their matches at neutral venues, is considered viable according to ACC sources.

PCB wants the second phase of Asia Cup to take place in UAE, however, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have raised objection to it, due to extreme heat there in September.  

"ACC head Jay Shah will summon an executive body meeting where a formal announcement will take place. The PCB doesn't mind playing India at a neutral venue. While they would prefer Dubai because it would lead to more gate receipts, it is open to playing in another country (read Sri Lanka) provided the ACC matches the gate receipts amount (USD 0. 5 million) that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) received in 2022 from the Indo-Pak games in Dubai," an ACC source told PTI.

The window for the Asia Cup this year is between September 1-17.